Battologies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A redundancy in speech or writing that repeats the same idea in different words
2. An instance of unnecessary repetition that detracts from clarity in communication
3. A form of expression where the same concept is reiterated excessively, often leading to confusion or annoyance

Etymology: "Battologies" is the plural of "battology," and the Greek behind it has a more colourful past than its modern meaning suggests. The ancient Greek "battología" meant "stammering speech," and the word seems to have been shaped by a sense of hesitant, repetitive babbling rather than by any idea of deliberate repetition for effect. The Greek noun is built from "battos" and "logos," and the first element may have been a stammer-like sound, which is why the word came to describe the sound of a speaker tripping over the same syllables. Over time the emphasis shifted from the stutter itself to the repetition it produced, so that the word came to describe needless, wearisome restatement.